REVOLVING DOOR:
Leon Hildebrandt has announced his retirement as Executive Vice President of Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS) after 40 years with the company. Hildebrandt started his career as a media buyer for Coke in the mid-1970s at McCann Erikson, and later joined what was then Standard Broadcast Sales in Oct. 1980. He’s been EVP since 1992. Over the years, he’s served as president of Canadian Association of Broadcast Representatives (CABR), Paul Mulvihill Charitable Foundation, chaired the Ruth Hancock Scholarship Fund and served on the board of the Broadcast Executive Society. Hildebrandt’s retirement takes effect June 30.
Alex Brown is leaving CTV Morning Live in Winnipeg to co-host and anchor CTV Morning Live Saskatoon. Brown joined CTV Winnipeg as a traffic reporter in Oct. 2018. Prior to that, she was the on-the-go reporter for Regina’s CTV Morning Live broadcast.
Siobhan Morris is leaving Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto to join CTV Barrie as a videographer and producer. Morris has been with Newstalk 1010 since 2012 as a reporter and anchor.
Thomas Richards has been appointed to the BCE board of directors. Richards most recently served as Executive Chairman of CDW until his retirement in Dec. 2019, and was previously the tech company’s President and CEO. Following its Annual General Meeting, BCE also announced the appointment of Sheila Murray as Director, succeeding Sophie Brochu, who announced in April she would not seek re-election following her appointment as CEO of Hydro-Québec. Murray is the former President of CI Financial Corp. and currently Chair of Teck Resources Limited.
WIFT-T (Women in Film and Television – Toronto) has announced its 2020-21 Board of Directors. Joining the board for a first term are: Argie Eliopoulos, Director, Partnerships and Events, Canadian Film Centre (CFC); Tanya Green, Head of Animated Series, Sinking Ship Entertainment; Terry E. Markus, Lawyer, Independent Business & Legal Affairs Consultant; Cailyn Michaan, Marketing Manager, Media and Experiential Marketing (XM), Walt Disney Studios; and Karen Walton, Screenwriter/Executive Producer, Inkling Entertainment. Linda Stregger (Spin Master) now assumes the role of Chair; Susan Alexander (Corus Entertainment) was appointed Vice-Chair; Janet Chant (Toronto Blue Jays) was appointed Treasurer, and Sonia Brar (Bell Media) will continue her role as Secretary. Joining the Foundation for WIFT-T Board are Jenn Kuzmyk, Executive Director, Banff World Media Festival and Playback; Carolyn Allain, Account Manager, National Bank of Canada; Argie Eliopoulos, Director, Partnerships and Events, Canadian Film Centre (CFC); and Laura Heath-Potter, Independent Producer.
Dennis Heaton has been re-elected by Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) members as President for a two-year term through April 2022. Vancouver-based Heaton (showrunner Motive, The Order) is joined on the council executive by returning Vice-President Andrew Wreggitt (Fortunate Son) and Treasurer Alex Levine (Orphan Black), who takes over from Mark Ellis (Flashpoint, X Company), who has stepped down after 10 years. Also returning are Michael Amo (Pure), Marsha Greene (Coroner) and Anne-Marie Perotta (Big Top Academy). Lienne Sawatsky, Toronto-based co-creator and executive producer of Teletoon animated series Wishfart, also joins the council.
RADIO:
Stingray has initiated what it’s dubbing an “economic stimulus plan” offering local businesses the opportunity to apply for “grants” in the form of free radio advertising. Through the program, Stingray says it will provide a minimum of $15 million in radio advertising grants to local businesses in markets where Stingray operates one of its 104 radio stations. The grants will range from a minimum of $1,000 up to a maximum of $100,000 per business. The recipient business will then have 12 months to use the grant towards booking and airing a campaign with no additional investment required. The program will include an approval process overseen by the local Stingray radio management team that will be based on factors, including immediate economic need, COVID-19 impact, and community benefit. Stingray says it remains to be seen whether anticipated demand for commercial production will mean that some of the 90 employees temporarily laid off in March will be recalled early. Read more here.
The New Classical FM (CFMZ-FM) Toronto and Zoomer Radio (CFZM-AM) have each launched “Win a $5,000 Advertising Campaign” contests asking listeners to nominate a business they think needs help. “We are looking for a business who has shown longevity and client loyalty in their community, shown effort in adapting their service during the COVID-19 outbreak, and could truly benefit from sharing their message to our audience to continue building their business through the fallout of COVID-19,” says Grace Howley, VP Sales, Assistant GM, ZoomerMedia Radio Division. The two winning businesses will each receive a $5,000 ad campaign. The stations will also offer their creative and production departments to write and produce the commercials for the winners.
Numeris says radio has been able to retain 88% of its weekly reach during the pandemic in spite of the massive disruption of Canadians’ work and commuter routines. As of Mar. 16, when most Canadians began sheltering-in-place and/or working from home, 88% of weekly reach was retained during the first six weeks covering Mar. 16 – Apr. 26, compared to the previous six weeks encompassing Feb. 3 – Mar. 15. When comparing the pre-COVID period (Feb. 3 – Mar. 15) vs. the COVID-19 period (Mar. 16 – Apr. 26), nearly 80% of women, 18+, and 83% of men, 18+, were reached weekly by radio during COVID-19 across the Canadian PPM markets (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton), compared to 92% and 93% respectively pre-COVID. The Calgary and Montreal Franco markets experienced the highest weekly reach, 18+, at 85% and 83%, A18-34, during the COVID-19 period. Read more here.
Numeris says the Radio Diary Spring 2020 Release will go ahead May 28, as originally scheduled. The audience measurement agency says the majority of diaries were processed prior to the start of the pandemic with 20 weeks (out of the 24 week sample under continuous measurement) fully processed before the start of COVID-19 to be included. The remaining four weeks will reflect older diaries from the previous Radio Diary release, as needed. Meter data continues to flow daily with no disruption of data delivery to members. To date, Numeris says moving to virtual call centres and remote panel maintenance has had no negative impact on panel performance.
CBC Radio is restoring its programming to its pre-COVID schedule as of Monday, May 18. An extended broadcast of CBC Radio One’s The Current is still airing this week (3.5 hours in most time zones). Among the shows returning to their regular time slots are q with Tom Power with upcoming guests to include Steven Page (May 18), Tori Amos (May 19), Ricky Gervais (May 20), Louis Gossett, Jr. (May 21) and Simu Liu (May 22), among others. CBC Music (aka CBC Radio 2) has been back on its regular schedule since May 4.
CBC Podcasts’ critically-acclaimed Someone Knows Something is back for a sixth season with a new investigation exploring the disappearance of 19-year-old Donald Izzett Jr. Host David Rigden follows a mother’s decades-long search to find justice for her son, who she believes was killed during a road trip across the U.S. in 1995.
Rebel 101.7 (CIDG-FM) Ottawa is airing virtual REBELFEST 2020 this weekend. Starting at 7 p.m. Friday, through Monday, May 18, the station will be showcasing bands ranging from Rage Against The Machine to local acts like Eve of Uprise with 30 minute to two-hour stop sets, accompanied by concert-level announcer intros. To satiate its listeners lamenting the cancellation of concerts and festival, the station is also replaying Metallica concerts, unedited on Saturday nights.
CISN Country 103.9 Edmonton is broadcasting a 12-hour live show in support of nurses and other healthcare workers on Friday, May 15. Running from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., CISN in the Morning is celebrating National Nurses Week and recognizing healthcare heroes working long hours. Hosted by Chris Scheetz, Matt DeBeurs and Crystal Darche and broadcasting live for the full duration of a typical hospital shift, the station is encouraging healthcare workers to request songs and share their stories on the show.
101.5 The Wolf (CKWF-FM) Peterborough will broadcast a 12-hour tribute to frontline workers, live from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET on May 15. As an act of solidarity with frontline workers, Brian and Taylor of Wolf Mornings will be working their own 12-hour shift with the hosts inviting all frontline workers to make song requests and share their stories in advance of the broadcast. Song requests and stories can be entered online with select requests and stories to be shared on air. Friends and family members can also make advance requests to dedicate a song to a frontline worker. The show will feature special guests who will join the broadcast remotely including Royal Tusk, Headstones, Our Lady Peace, The Tea Party, Monster Truck, Toronto Blue Jays telecaster Jamie Campbell, and more.
Jian Ghomeshi has resurfaced with a podcast called Roqe, “conversations from, to, and about the Iranian diaspora.” Debuting last month, episodes to date have featured guests including Rudi Bakhtiar of the Humanitarian Relief Coalition, fashion designer Shadi Parand, classical pianist Sanaz Sotoudeh, and Bollywood star Mandana Karimi. New episodes drop Mondays and Thursdays on YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud. According to the Roqe Media website, “Roqe makes its mission to be an antidote to a market tired of superficial interviews or soundbite media hits and it is committed to doing so in a non-partisan and non-politically aligned way.” Roqe Media is backed by Mehrdad Ariannejad, CEO of Tirgan, the Toronto not-for-profit promoting cross-cultural dialogue between Iranian-Canadians and the global community, which also stages a biennial celebration of Persian culture.
SiriusXM and Calm, the meditation and mindfulness app, have launched The Calm Channel, featuring soothing music, tranquil soundscapes and mindfulness meditations. The Calm Channel is available on channel 68, as well as on demand on the SiriusXM app, as part of SiriusXM’s Stream Free offer through May 31.
Podtrac data indicates weekly podcast listening in the U.S. is returning to normal levels. The week of May 4-10 was flat for downloads and up 1% for audience compared to the previous week. This is the third consecutive week download growth has been flat or positive, and the fourth consecutive week audience growth has been flat or positive. Weekly downloads since the first week of January are up 25% and weekly audience up 9% through the week ending May 10 across all Podtrac-measured podcasts. On a monthly basis, average downloads for the Top 10 Publishers were down 6% in April over March, but still up 3% from Jan. 2020.
Nielsen has launched Gracenote Audio On Demand, a database enabling search and discovery of more than 37 million podcast episodes across all digital entertainment platforms. At launch, Gracenote Audio On Demand has standardized podcast titles, descriptions and imagery across more than 900,000 podcast series with each assigned a popularity score to help surface the most popular content, while the top series will leverage more descriptive information such as Category Hierarchy and Celebrity Links to make it easier for consumers to find specific topics they’re interested in.
Podcast Movement 2020, which was to be held in Dallas in August, is being tentatively rescheduled to Oct. 19-22. Organizers say the October dates give the event an additional two months to monitor containment and confirm that Podcast Movement can be safely hosted. Why not cancel outright like so many other industry events? “We’ve spoken with members from all over the community, and they’ve let us know the importance of Podcast Movement staying on the books for them in 2020,” said organizers in an email. “We’ve learned that they see PM as something that is a contributor to the industry as a whole, not only from an education and training perspective, but as a vehicle that helps move podcasting forward. We’ve hosted the event every year since 2014 to do just that, and we feel like we owe it to those who’ve put their faith in us those 6+ years to give it our best shot at continuing the movement.”
Shawn Parr, the former host of Westwood One-syndicated radio show Nash Nights Live, is launching his follow-up Shawn Parr’s Across the Country, June 1. Based in Nashville, the show promises to connect listeners with some of the biggest names in country music. The show will be available for syndication in Canada via Momentum Media Networks. Learn more here.
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Jason Barrett of Barrett Sports Media joins Matt Cundill to discuss how sports radio can best manage the pandemic. With no sports in action across the planet, Jason offers some short term and long term advice for programmers. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
SIGN OFFS:
Joyce Davidson Susskind, 89, on May 7, at Meighen Manor in Toronto, as a result of complications from COVID-19. Originally from Saskatoon, Davidson grew up in Hamilton with her first foray into television in 1954 when she was hired by CHCH-TV as an assistant on a cooking show. She was soon appearing on television commercials and by 1956 was a fill-in host on CBC current affairs program, Tabloid. She resigned from the show amid controversy in 1959 after expressing her indifference to an upcoming visit by Queen Elizabeth II during an NBC interview. Davidson then headed stateside where she became a contributor to The Today Show and was later hired in the early 1960s on PM East/PM West, a five-night-a-week show, co-hosted by Mike Wallace. Davidson returned to Canadian television in 1977 as host of weekday afternoon talk show, The Joyce Davidson Show, produced by CFTO-TV. In 1980, she went on to host Authors, a CBC interview series featuring Canadian writers.
Nevin Grant, 80, on May 6, after a battle with Parkinson’s. Grant established Hamilton’s CKOC as “a hitmaker” over his 37 years at the station. He started working at CKOC in 1966 following his graduation from Ryerson’s Radio and Television Arts program after leaving law school to pursue broadcasting. Starting out as a copywriter, he worked his way up to creative director, music director, assistant program director and eventually program director. During most of Grant’s tenure, the station played Top 40 with CKOC earning a reputation as a leader in breaking new hits and artists. Over the years, he helped launch the careers of many broadcasters including Roger Ashby, Ronald J. Morey, Gord James, Dave Charles, Brent Sleightholm, Bob Steele, Mike Jaycock, Peter Jaycock, Franklyn Cooper, “Rock ‘N’” Ray Michaels and Bob Bratina. Grant also chaired the Program Advisory Committee for Radio Broadcasting at Mohawk College. He retired in 2003 and went on to pen memoir, Growing up with the Hits!: Reliving The Best Time of Your Life – 1955-1989. Grant was set to be inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week as the 2020 recipient of the Allan Waters Lifetime Achievement Award. Read more here.
Shaun Clarke, 62, on May 5 of cancer. A longtime Nova Scotia film locations manager, Clarke’s career spanned 35 years, including involvement with N.S.-shot productions The Lighthouse, Titanic, The Healer, Trailer Park Boys, Mr. D, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Two If By Sea, The Shipping News, and Black Cop, among others. Clarke was also a background actor. In addition to helping scout the location for Oscar-nominated The Lighthouse, which filmed at Cape Forchu in Yarmouth, NS, Clarke had a brief on-screen role as one of the lighthouse keepers relieved by the film’s stars, Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. He also had small parts on Trailer Park Boys and Mr. D.
Richard (Dick) Glunz, 90, on Apr. 30 at University of Alberta Hospital. Glunz, originally from Buffalo, New York, was part of the Photographic Arts class of 1954 at Ryerson. He went on to a 31-year career as a television technician at CBC, working in both Toronto and Edmonton.
TV & FILM:
thinktv’s latest analysis shows TV viewing is still going strong, but starting to taper in prime time. With six weeks of “viewing during COVID” data now available, thinktv’s analysis shows some subtle changes in viewing patterns for the period from Mar. 16 – Apr. 26. Tuning is still significantly higher than pre-COVID, but is starting to see some audience fatigue. Overall viewing is up 11% on average (and up 20%, A25-54, when specialty sports is excluded) with the biggest increases in A25-54 viewing in daytime (+29%) and evening (+17% in the 6–7 p.m. block). However, prime time viewing is down 5%. When excluding sports networks, overall television consumption is still up 6%. Viewership of Canadian conventional national newscasts is up 51%, A25-54, compared to the period from Feb. 10 – Mar. 15, while viewership of Canadian specialty news is up 149% for the same period. Read more here.
The Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia has handed down a nearly $290,000 fine to the producers of Deadpool 2. WorkSafeBC identified a number of failures by TCF Vancouver Productions Ltd., a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, that contributed to the death of stuntwoman Joi Harris in Aug. 2017. Among other failures, WorkSafeBC said Harris was not instructed to wear headgear and that a risk assessment wasn’t undertaken prior to the stunt, among other violations. Harris died after she was thrown from a motorcycle and crashed into the window frame of a building.
Cineflix Rights has sold CBC Original drama series Coroner to The CW Network. The one-hour drama stars Serinda Swan as a newly-appointed coroner who investigates suspicious, unnatural or sudden deaths in Toronto. Coroner was previously acquired by NBCUniversal International Networks for broadcast on Universal TV in the UK. Coroner is produced by Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films, and Cineflix Studios. The CW Network deal was brokered on Cineflix’s behalf by APA’s Kyle Loftus.
Corus Studios original series Island of Bryan has been sold to HGTV for the U.S. market. Season 1 & 2 of the series will be re-titled Renovation Island for the American market. The series follows Bryan and Sarah Baeumler as they navigate rebuilding and restoring a beachfront resort in the Bahamas, with their four children in tow. Season 1 is set to premiere June 7 on HGTV. In Canada, Season 2 was the most-watched series on the network in the past 10 years. Island of Bryan is produced by Si Entertainment in association with Corus Entertainment’s HGTV Canada. Corus Studios is represented by Rita Carbone Fleury, who oversees the global sales of Corus’ original content slate and brokered this deal.
Hot Docs has partnered with The Slaight Family Foundation to create the Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund, dedicated to supporting Canadian music documentaries. Through a gift of $450,000 from The Slaight Family Foundation, the new film development and production fund will annually support three to five documentary projects, both shorts and features, with amounts ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 CAD. Recipients will also receive creative and professional development support. Applications for the first round of funding open June 3.
ReelAbilities Film Festival has announced the full schedule for its 5th Anniversary Festival, which has moved online, May 20-24. Showcasing Canadian and International shorts, features, and documentaries about deaf and disability cultures and by filmmakers and actors with disabilities and/or who are deaf, ReelAbilities will screen a dozen films including Code of the Freaks on May 20, followed by a Q&A. Directed by Salome Chasnoff, Code of the Freaks presents a radical reframing of the use of disabled characters in film, gathering hundreds of clips from over a century of Hollywood favourites – viewed with a fresh perspective by disability activists, artists and scholars. ReelAbilities will also present events including an Inclusive Content Creation workshop facilitated by Accessible Media Inc; a youth panel with Aiden Lee and members of the Holland-Bloorview Youth Council; and a panel about working with the CBC and how to pitch a project on May 24.
The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is launching four months of online programming from May to September, the majority of which will be offered free of charge. International media companies already signed up to participate in sessions and networking offerings include A+E Networks, Amazon, AMC Networks, BBC America, Bell Media, Blue Ant Media, CAA, CBBC, CBC/RadioCanada, CBS All-Access, CNN, Corus Entertainment, Disney, Endemol Shine, eOne, Hulu, ITV Studios, Keshet, Netflix, Lionsgate, OUTtv, PBS, Rogers Media, Starz, Tomorrow Studios, Groupe Media TFO, UKTV, Vice Canada, Warner Bros., WarnerMedia, YLE, ZDF and more. The BANFF Virtual Edition will kickoff May 26 with a Master Class featuring a sneak peek of post-apocalyptic drama series, Snowpiercer, which will air on TNT in the U.S. and internationally on Netflix (outside the U.S. and China). Additional industry panels, interactive video sessions and online networking events will be announced in the coming weeks. Individuals can register for a complimentary VIRTUAL PASS. Curated online one-on-one meetings and small group sessions with studio executives, agents, network buyers and streaming executives can be accessed via registration for a VIRTUAL + NETWORKING PASS for CAD $250.
Canadian Film Fest (CFF) says its 2020 Masterclass and Industry Series will be programmed on Super Channel’s Facebook and CFF’s Facebook and YouTube channel, May 21 – June 5, as part of the virtual Canadian Film Fest, presented by Super Channel. Some of the panels have pivoted their focus to address current day scenarios. Find the complete schedule of free industry programming, here. Find the schedule of CFF films airing on Super Channel, here.
Telefilm has put forward its Call for Entries for the Canada Virtual Pavilion at Cannes 2020, June 22-26. Showcasing Canadian professionals and their films (finished, in post production or at the project stage) online, Telefilm is offering a consolidated promotion campaign between three markets: MIFA, Sunny Side of the Doc and the Cannes Film Market. Register here by May 29 and update your profile on RDVCanada to be included. The deadline for Early Bird registration is May 29.
Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro have returned to TV after eight weeks exclusively on radio. Tim & Sid made their return to Canadian screens Monday on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet NOW. Daily episodes are continuing to air on Sportsnet 590 The FAN (CJCL-AM) and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
Sportsnet is turning back the clocks to relive the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, starting Monday, May 18. The six-day World Cup marathon will have a special focus on Team Canada, featuring Sidney Crosby, John Tavares and Carey Price, in addition to Team North America, including Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba and Connor Hellebuyck. Sportsnet’s encore presentation of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey gets underway May 18 with a double billing in primetime, starting with Team USA vs. Team Canada at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, followed by a showdown between Team Europe and Team North America at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW. In addition to the encore presentations on TV, hockey fans can also join a World Cup of Hockey Watch Party on May 21, on Sportsnet’s YouTube and Facebook platforms.
CTV Sci-Fi Channel has announced that the cast of Orphan Black will reunite for a two-episode table read to be streamed from the official Orphan Black Facebook page on Sunday, May 17 at 3 p.m. ET. The virtual reunion coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, as well as Mental Health Month in May. Viewers are invited to support CenterLink, an organization supporting LBGT community centres, and Sistering, a multi-service agency for at-risk women and trans people. Confirmed to read Episodes 106 and 107 from the show’s first season are Tatiana Maslany, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kristian Bruun, Kevin Hanchard, Dylan Bruce, Evelyne Brochu, Josh Vokey, Michael Mando, Inga Cadranel, Eric Johnson, Natalie Lisinska, and acting double Kathryn Alexandre, along with co-creators, Graeme Manson and John Fawcett, executive producer Kerry Appleyard, writer Will Pascoe and co-producer Mackenzie Donaldson.
CTV has unveiled the first wave of new and returning series headlining the network’s summer lineup, headlined by new physical competition series Ultimate Tag, airing Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, beginning May 20. Co-hosted by NFL sibling trio JJ, TJ, and Derek Watt, the show is based on the classic playground game. Returning to the CTV schedule is dance competition series World Of Dance (May 26), and celebrity-filled game show Match Game (June 7), hosted by Alec Baldwin. The network will also air the fifth and final season of Blindspot, currently airing Thursdays on CTV, and the seventh and final season of MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (May 27) set to anchor Wednesday nights. CTV will also present a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe each week, Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/PT, beginning June 7.
Shaftesbury is expanding the Shaftesbury Kids production and development slate to include four new series. Life With Luca (26 x 30 mins) is a live-action spin-off of long-running Life with Derek. Stinky Science (26 x 3 mins) is in pre-production, an animated series from Smiley Guy Studios, that explores the science behind why things stink. Mary and Flo: On the Go! (9 x 7-mins), inspired by Shaftesbury series Frankie Drake Mysteries, with animation by Smiley Guy Studios, follows Mary and Flo as they travel the world encountering famous women and men of the 1920s. Miikshi (10 x 7 mins) is a live action puppet series following the adventures of a shy but genius sheep scientist. In the meantime, Shaftesbury has released its full library of new and legacy kids programming on the Shaftesbury Kids YouTube channel. Some of the series are also available on CBC Gem and Citytv in Saskatchewan.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) says Canadians’ use of technology at home has leapt by double-digit percentages amid the COVID-19 pandemic with online video seeing the biggest gain, followed by live TV. According to a CTA survey, conducted Apr. 17-19, 53% of those asked said they are streaming more video content from services like Netflix and Disney+ than they did the previous month, and 46% watching more live TV. 17% are using a new streaming service for the first time and 11% using a new streaming service that offers live TV options such as Crave and YouTube TV. 43% of Canadian households are using video conferencing platforms like Zoom and FaceTime more often now, while nearly half are using social media apps more frequently.
CBC says unique visitors/viewers to CBC Gem in March increased by 43% compared to the previous month, resulting in the highest number of unique visitors/viewers to the streaming service in the past 12 months. CBC Gem also experienced its highest-ever number of video views in March since the launch of the service. Gem’s next Canadian premiere is coming-of-age drama Normal People (12×30, an Element Pictures production for BBC and Hulu), based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones (War of the Worlds, Cold Feet) and newcomer Paul Mescal. Recently launched in the UK and U.S. and touted as one of the best book-to-series adaptations in recent years, the 12-part story will begin streaming May 27, with two new episodes available every Wednesday.
CBC has launched Hello Spring, a four-week Canada-wide digital initiative celebrating the wonders of spring to help Canadians experience the season from the safety and comfort of their homes. Led by filmmaker Jeff Turner (The Wild Canadian Year), the website features the work of some of Canada’s top nature and wildlife cinematographers and a collection of nature livestreams from eagles feeding their young in B.C. and peregrine falcon chicks hatching in Alberta, to the spectacular Northern Lights in Manitoba. Canadians will also be able to share glimpses of spring from their own corners of the country using the hashtag #HelloSpringCBC across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. CBC will collect and highlight the best images and videos on the Hello Spring website. CBC Gem is featuring a #HelloSpring collection, which includes spring-themed lifestyle, documentary and unscripted programming.
Felix & Paul Studios have released two new apps on the Oculus Quest store: the Felix & Paul Studios Portal and Jurassic World Portal. For the first time, the Felix & Paul Studios Portal will bring together the Montreal studio’s catalogue of cinematic virtual reality experiences in one space, beginning with a selection of its most fundamental works, including Strangers with Patrick Watson, one of the first cinematic VR experiences ever made, featuring an intimate glimpse into the studio and process of musician Patrick Watson. The Jurassic World Portal features two of Felix & Paul Studios’ most popular VR experiences – Jurassic World: Apatosaurus and Jurassic World: Blue, allowing viewers to see what it feels like to be in the presence and close proximity of a living dinosaur. In the coming months, additional content will be added to the Felix & Paul Studios Portal, as well as new apps for the growing number of Cirque du Soleil and Space Explorers projects.
Media Technology Monitor’s (MTM) new MTM Junior report, focused on the media behaviour of Canadians aged 2-17, finds that 88% of families with kids in the home have access to at least one over-the-top service (OTT) with Netflix being the most common, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. While Anglophone families report spending a larger proportion of time co-viewing OTT content (53%) than Francophone families (48%), the latter spend a larger proportion co-viewing traditional TV (51% vs. 49%). Just over eight in 10 children have watched YouTube in the past month, and they’re doing so frequently with 53% watching it daily. Facebook still dominates among Canadian adults (18+). However, Instagram is the most popular social network for Canadian teens (12 to 17) with 67% of them using it.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Canadian Heritage will begin its rollout of the $500M COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations with relief for the screen industries encompassed in the program’s first phase, and small broadcasters and local news organizations to benefit in its second phase. The Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm and Canada Media Fund will distribute funds to their recipients in the first phase. The second phase will provide temporary support for organizations that don’t receive funding from the aforementioned or Canadian Heritage. That includes third-language producers, local news outlets, magazines and community newspapers, live music organizations, and non-recipient arts and culture groups. Eligible recipients will be asked to attest to need to ensure continuity of operations and safeguard jobs; and aren’t receiving funding from multiple sources, like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to cover the same costs. Read more here.
Bell Media has come away with a leading 13 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, announced today by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). With the exception of two categories, Canadian news outlets swept the International division this year with CTV News recognized in eight categories, while Toronto’s Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) won five awards, including the Large Market honour for Best Breaking News Coverage, Continuing News Coverage, Feature Reporting, Hard News, and Best Newscast for the station’s coverage the morning after the Toronto Raptors’ NBA Championship win. Global News earned five awards with Crime Beat, which originates out of Global Calgary, notably taking the Best Podcast category. Rogers’ news radio stations came away with four awards, including two for Vancouver’s News 1130 (CKWX-AM) which was recognized in the Multimedia category and for its News Series ‘Still Fighting’ on the Vancouver Pride movement. 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto won the award for Overall Excellence (Large Market Radio). Read more here.
The Atlantic Journalism Awards (AJAs) have announced 2019 Gold and Silver award winners, with CBC Nova Scotia earning a leading five Gold awards, including Best Television Newscast. VOCM News at Noon With Brian Madore won Best Radio Newscast, while News 95.7’s (CJNI-FM) The Sheldon MacLeod Show won Best Information News Radio Program. Three journalists were also inducted into the AJAs Hall of Fame: Glen Carter, NTV News; Vernon Oickle, Bridgewater Bulletin; and David Cadogan, Miramichi Leader.
Ian Hanomansing, the Vancouver-based weekend host of CBC’s The National, will speak about British Columbia’s handling of COVID-19 and covering the coronavirus, on the next J-Talks Live webcast this Thursday, May 14. The event is part of the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s J-Talks program, which explores pressing journalistic issues. Hanomansing is one of the featured speakers in a special free series of 40-minute talks focused on journalism’s critical role in the COVID-19 crisis. Those interested in joining the talk, this Thursday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) are asked to register. Read more here.
Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) President Karyn Pugliese says the access-to-information system has ground to a near standstill at a time when the federal government spends billions in emergency aid with minimal parliamentary scrutiny. The CAJ says the system was already in crisis before the pandemic with Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard recently warning Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos in a letter that the federal ATIP system “may soon be beyond repair,” and already faced “chronic under-resourcing” before the current crisis. The CAJ is recommending Duclos enact a ministerial order providing requesters the option of receiving responses by email from every government institution by default. It also recommends that as the pandemic response shifts to recovery, the federal government properly fund and staff its ATIP departments—and emphasize internally that transparency is at the core of the government’s duty to Canadians.
Bell delivered positive service revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth in Q1, despite the impact of COVID-19, according to its latest earnings report. Glen LeBlanc, Chief Financial Officer for BCE and Bell Canada said the company remains in a solid financial position with $3.2 billion of liquidity, a strong balance sheet, continued access to capital markets, and a free cash flow profile more than adequate to meet BCE’s cash requirements for the balance of the year. BCE operating revenue was $5,680 million, down 0.9% compared to Q1 2019, due to reduced economic and commercial activity. Net earnings declined 7.3% to $733 million and net earnings attributable to shareholders totalled $680 million, or $0.75 per share, down 8.1% and 8.5% respectively. Adjusted EBITDA increased 1.4% to $2,442 million, driven by increases of 4.0% at Bell Wireless and 0.5% at Bell Wireline. Bell Media adjusted EBITDA was down 6.1% due to the industry-wide impact on ad sales attributable to COVID-19, however Media operating revenue increased 0.9% to $752 million on higher subscriber revenue from Crave and contract renewals with TV distributors. BCE reported 19,595 net new wireless customers (23,650 postpaid and a net loss of 4,055 prepaid); 22,595 net new retail Internet customers; 2,852 net new IPTV customers; a net loss of 21,407 retail satellite TV customers; and a net loss of 61,595 retail residential NAS lines.
TELUS has released its unaudited results for the first quarter of 2020. For the quarter, consolidated operating revenue of $3.7 billion increased by 5.4% over the same period a year ago. For the quarter, net income of $353 million decreased by 19% over the same period last year and Basic earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28 decreased by 22% as EBITDA growth was more than offset by higher depreciation and amortization due to growth in capital assets from recent acquisitions, including CCC (Competence Call Center) and ADT Canada, as well as ongoing investments to support expansion of the company’s broadband footprint. In the quarter, TELUS added 119,000 new wireless, internet, TV and security customers, up 14,000 over the same quarter a year ago. Net additions included 21,000 mobile phones, 49,000 mobile connected devices, as well as 26,000 internet, 8,000 TV and 15,000 security customers. As a by-product of the COVID-19 pandemic, subscriber growth in the final weeks of March was lower as customers reduced their usual shopping habits and a significant number of physical sales channels were closed, resulting in a decrease in both gross additions as well as customer churn.
TVA Group recorded operating revenues in the amount of $137.1 million in the first quarter of 2020, a year-over-year increase of $3.0 million. First quarter operating highlights included $3,829,000 in adjusted EBITDA in the Broadcasting segment, a $1,349,000 (54.4%) favourable variance due primarily to the increase in adjusted EBITDA for specialty channels, in particular TVA Sports, where the costs reflect a significant decrease of sporting events broadcast on the channel, partially offset by the increase in negative adjusted EBITDA for TVA Network. $3,172,000 in adjusted EBITDA was recorded in the Film Production & Audiovisual Services (“MELS”) segment, a $3,066,000 favourable variance due to increased profitability of soundstage, mobile and equipment rental services. $667,000 in adjusted EBITDA was recorded in the Production & Distribution segment. TVA Group’s total market share increased by 2.1 points to 40.4% in Q1. TVA Network grew its share by 1.1 points while the specialty channels’ share increased 1.0 points as a result of strong 2.2-point growth at LCN, which peaked at a 6.9% share.
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) has issued its Mid-Year Report for 2019-20, reporting that complaints were down 12% between Aug. 1, 2019 and Jan. 31, 2020. Cogeco and Bell largely contributed to the decline, with Cogeco recording a 75% decrease while Bell recorded a 26% reduction. TELUS also saw a 7% decline. Fido (+29%) and Rogers (+6%) complaints increased. The most complained-about consumer problems were “Disclosure issues” and “incorrect charges,” making up 26% of all reported issues.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has released data highlighting significant differences in internet speeds experienced by rural and urban Canadians. The data was generated by CIRA’s Internet Performance Test and submitted as part of the CRTC consultation on barriers to rural broadband deployment. CIRA says in April, rural download speeds were nearly 12 times slower than those enjoyed by urban Canadians and that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, internet speeds have fallen for rural users and increased for urban users, effectively widening Canada’s digital divide. CIRA says April median rural download speeds were measured at 3.78 Mbps, compared to 44.09 Mbps in urban Canada – a difference of 11.7 times. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, median speeds have fallen for rural users from typically 4 to 7 Mbps to 3.78 Mbps. Urban speeds climbed to an annual high of 44.09 Mbps last month. The data is based on testing data generated between May 2019 and April 2020 from a total of 86,706 urban tests and 31,734 rural tests.
SaskTel has announced it will invest approximately $324 million in Saskatchewan in 2020-21 and over $1.4 billion over the next five years. Highlights of the investment program include $73.0 million for the Fibre to the x (FTTx) program with upgrades to infiNET, SaskTel’s fibre optics network. The program aims to pass 100% of the homes in the nine major centres by the end of the 2022/23 fiscal year. In addition, SaskTel anticipates that 100% of the homes will be passed in Emerald Park, Humboldt, Martensville, Melfort, Melville, Nipawin, Tisdale, Warman, and White City by the end of fiscal 2021/22. In 2020/21, the FTTx program is forecast to pass approximately 33,000 homes while connecting 21,000.
BROADCAST TECH:
LISTEN: On this special, sponsored edition of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, David Rusch of Audio Broadcast Canada talks to Bob Orban, company founder and director of engineering, on celebrating 50 years of audio processing ingenuity, including 20 U.S. patents and a Scientific and Engineering honour from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Quebecor has launched a new tool that lets advertisers synchronize their digital advertising activations with the air times of their television commercials automatically. Jean-Sébastien Prénovost, Quebecor’s Director, Data & Programmatic says the tool is in response to media consumption habits with 65% of people using their smartphones while watching television. After seeing a television commercial, Quebecor says two out of five people do online searches related to the advertised product, service or brand. It estimates that combining a television campaign with a digital one can increase unaided brand awareness by 211% and lift ROI by 60%. Automated omnichannel synchronization lets advertisers adjust their banner campaigns by running their digital advertisements on one or more of Quebecor’s 59 websites and apps after their TV commercials have aired. Previously, such omni-channel synchronization had to be done manually and involved a lag of one to two hours between the time the TV commercial aired and the time that the digital ads appeared.
Casting Workbook has introduced a new Virtual Casting Room (VCR) service which has been in development for the past year and is now in a strategic pivot to meet new industry demands. VCR is fully automated and includes everything an actor needs to prepare and show up for their Virtual Audition, including pre-check in to the session in advance, their sides, video directions, information forms with product and scheduling conflicts, the script breakdown as well as role descriptions. Everything is then bundled with their online photos, resumes and demo reels, when available, and sent via a Sharing Platform to the production team to select candidates.
Tauria, a Waterloo-based software encryption company, has launched a secure video conferencing and business suite that offers end-to-end encryption, responding to concerns about security breaches on other video conferencing platforms and user information being sold to third parties. Tauria has the capability to support up to 50 people on video conference calls, while also allowing users to send messages, organize schedules, and share files. During the current pandemic, Tauria has discounted its services to make secure and encrypted communications for businesses more accessible.
